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Tiger boys just miss upsetting Eagles
By Joe Warren
Nevada Daily Mail
A couple of non-calls and a missed shot added up to a missed opportunity for the Nevada boys basketball team as they lost to Joplin 57-56 at the Carthage Invitational Thursday.
While most of the game went as if the referees had their whistles permanently attached to their lips, there were two questionable no-calls that were made in the final minute that may have cost the Tigers the upset.
The first came with about 45 seconds left in the game and Joplin leading 53-51. Bryan Campbell got the ball as the Tigers broke the Joplin full-court press and he drove for a possible layup. As he went up with his left hand, Joplin's Jeff Smith blocked the shot while knocking Campbell over with his body. The referee called a clean block even though he was in clear position to see what most people would have called as a blocking foul.
Seconds later as the ball was moving up the court, a Joplin ball-handler clearly double-dribbled but the three-man officiating crew somehow missed it.
Couple that with a missed three-pointer just seconds earlier, and the Tigers were unable to get by the powerful Eagles.
Nevada coach John McNeley said that in spite of the results, the Tigers played well.
"That's pretty close to the level that we're capable of playing at right now," McNeley said. "I really thought our kids competed hard."
In a game not many gave Nevada a chance to win, it was the Joplin Eagles who had to count their blessings Thursday.
Nevada and Joplin battled each other all night with nobody leading by more than five points the entire game. The Eagles led 10-9 after one quarter, but Nevada held leads of 24-23 at the half and 41-38 going into the final period.
Both teams shot the ball well, but nobody was as hot as Joplin's Shea Stehm. Stehm hit six out of seven shots from behind the arc and led all scorers with 20 points.
McNeley said that Stehm was very difficult to defend.
"Not only is he a good shooter, but he's quick on his release," McNeley said.
Many of Stehm's shots came with Nevada seemingly taking control and holding a small lead.
Nevada was led by Campbell, who scored 17. Senior Ben Wilson played a very efficient game from the point and added 14 points of his own.
"I'm not sure Ben can play much better than that," McNeley said. Wilson was distributing the ball well all game while also hitting a pull-up jumper with pinpoint accuracy.
Also contributing heavily off the bench was junior J.R. Mills, who scored 13 points, including three from downtown.
McNeley also mentioned the strong play of Seth Owings.
"He stepped up," McNeley said.
The Tigers used a 1-3-1 zone in a game for the first time this season, and the first time since McNeley took over the program.
The coach was happy with some of the preliminary results.
"I think it's going to be a good defense for us," he said. "But it's awfully tough to rebound out of. We're probably just not ready to rebound out of it yet."
The Tigers also used a smaller lineup for most of the game, trying to give Nevada a quickness advantage to counter the superior height of the Eagles.
Much of the game it was Wilson, Campbell, Mills, Taylor Rainey and post Eric Atkinson on the floor. Guard Jim Fay and forwards Owings, Nate Gragg and Logan Moore also received extensive playing time.
Of that group only Moore, Gragg and Owings stand over 6-feet, 1-inch in height, and they were never on the floor at the same time.
Meanwhile, Joplin often had line-ups with four players 6 feet, 2 inches or taller.
The Tigers were able to use their quickness to get to many loose balls and to create dribble penetration which obviously frustrated the Eagles defensively.
Wilson, Campbell, Fay and Mills often were able to get into the lane for either a layup or drawing a foul.
"We can go a lot of different ways," McNeley said. "I like the ability of certain people to handle, distribute and shoot it."
The Tigers will finish the tournament Saturday, when they take on Carl Junction. That game will start at 4:30 p.m. at the Carthage High School gym.